while iBooks are very affordable textbooks, the iPad makes for one insanely expensive backpack

What all this adds up to is a education revolution for the landed gentry. Or even worse, schools that can’t afford it chasing a wave that’s years away from cresting. Millions of dollars spent on a supplementary learning tool. A distant horizon mistaken for the here and now.

If you think iPads will give k12 students at chance at interactive, remote learning — look at the cost

With the largest $50 tablet plan, you can watch about three and a half hours of YouTube videos in a month.

And, the cost will continue rise —

“Customers are using more data than ever before,” said David Christopher, AT&T’s chief marketing officer in a news release. “Our new plans are driven by this increasing demand in a highly competitive environment.”

And, if AT&T has its way with state law, it will be near impossible for local governments to create wifi environments to lower that cost. For example, look at what the Wisconsin legislation does to the university system’s internetwork (WiscNet and PeachNet are very similar).

The legislation would also prohibit UW System campuses from supporting WiscNet, a cooperative that brings high-speed Internet to most schools and libraries across the state. Campus leaders say they fear the change could cripple the network. […] But Republican lawmakers say the university should not be in the business of providing telecommunications services.